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Comments on ‘People's Demands: Present’
michelle at July 30, 2003 11:58 AM:
What is the best hope for increasing freedom of expression? Are LA radio stations helping or hurting? Any creative ideas?
Kaveh at July 30, 2003 12:22 PM:
I am not sure of that. In fact I'll suspect anything that has to do even a little with the monarchists, and the LA bunch has a lot to with them. Seriously, I think radios are pretty much a WWII propaganda phenomena. They are strictly un-interactive and are not responsible about what they say (unlike papers that have to publish replies and denials). Well, they are still good for cultural issues. Newsapers are still probably the best effective way of political communication in Iran. The government shuts them down on a monthly basis but people are always on the look for new ones. Their online editions are also very popular among the Iranians abroads which makes them a more attractive choice for me at least.
BHS at July 31, 2003 04:55 PM:
The LA-based TVs are not promising. As Kaveh said, they are controlled by intolerant symapthizers (in the least) of monarchy, and do not really help the freedom of speech the way they handle their callers, for instance. Newspapers are good but not enough, the way they are treated in Iran. For them to be effective they need an atmosphere of quiet that is lacking. The process of new ones replacing the banned ones keeps themm alive, sort of, but disrupts their continuity in a seriously fatal way. Internet, I think, can be used more effectively, to spread the word of dissent and wisdome, the key ingredient in a reform movement that could get covered under a lot of emotional dust in times of pressure. Thinking about free polls the other day, I imagined with the magic of instant publishing anyone can now conduct a more or less quiet but... [more at the permalink of the entry above]